Parent protests walkouts

I am a parent in Oakville and my daughter attends a public school in French Immersion.

I have just received notification the teachers are, once again, protesting and there will be no school (today).

I want to express my outrage at this situation. It makes me wonder how often this is going to occur since no one seems too inclined to sit down at a table, negotiate, mediate and/or arbitrate to get a deal done to get this matter resolved as soon as possible to avoid further impact on the students.

This has been going on far too long, and, if this involved private corporations, under no circumstances would any outstanding matter be permitted to carry on to this extent. Time costs money and the job needs to get done, and that is the bottom line.

Parents, especially working parents with few alternatives, are placed in a position where it is very difficult to quickly round up daycare or activities, let alone the impact upon the student. The teachers’ union and the government are playing with students’ educational years — why must the children be held at ransom to political ploys?

I might add, should I suddenly decide I want to protest something at work, my position might be alternatively filled. I believe if you conducted a proper survey, you might find that your perceived support by parents for the teachers union might be quickly dwindling, if not completely gone. Quite frankly, we’ve had enough.

I have a limited amount of sick time that I cannot carry over and a limited amount of vacation time — and certainly not 14 paid weeks. I believe the teachers’ union is leading the teachers astray — we live in a different world from the 1970s where government and/or company pensions perhaps were the norm and other benefits were provided.

Today, competition is so fierce, corporations have had to downsize, and restrict in their budgets, and yet, simultaneously the teachers’ union leads the teachers to believe the ultimate in benefits are still possible when the funds necessary to pay for them are not. A wake-up call is required. Take a look at Greece.

If the government cannot provide a sustainable education for my daughter that is consistent and worthwhile, then perhaps its time to pay back all the taxes I (and we all) have paid to the government and I will enrol her in one the multitudes of private schools in Oakville so she can be afforded a proper education.

I believe the teachers want to provide a proper teaching environment for our children and they are currently being placed in a difficult position as a direct result of their union.

Facts need to be spoken so teachers can come into the 21st century and realize perhaps the utopian retirements they wish for might not be possible. I wish they were — for all our sakes — but unfortunately, the way the last few years have gone, it just might not be possible.

That is not to say, I think the teachers should be paid anything less than they are worth. I believe they should be awarded a proper and equitable compensation and be paid for extra-curricular activities that any such teacher contributes to. However, with regard to the entire package — often, we all don’t always get what we want... but perhaps, rather, get what we need.

Really folks, its been months now, bring down your egos, speak the truth, get in a room together and stay there for as long as it takes, and get this job done.